ABSTRACT
Stalling equity for women in the academy is the "maternal wall," discriminatory workplace practices and beliefs that halt career progress. The maternal wall is constructed by external discrimination as well as internalized cultural beliefs that demands women's all-consuming labor. Intersecting systems of race and gender thicken maternal walls, driving down wages and status for women of color and erecting institutional barriers. The authors experiences suggest that academic women of color may not enjoy protection by campus policies because they are not made aware of them. Applications of leave and tenure clock-stopping policies also strengthen maternal walls by individualizing ways of coping with motherhood. Mothers also experience discrimination when workplaces fail to accommodate physical requirements of motherhood that include time to recover from childbirth and breastfeeding. Additional challenges face faculty mothers where faculty are required to be present four full days per week.
